


Forgetfulness Is A Forgivable Sin

by GachMoBrea



Series: Fostering Strength [16]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Angst, BigBrother!Len, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explainations, FEELS!!!, Family Feels, Father!Joe, Gen, LOTS of Hugging..., NO Canon Placement, Officer Jeremy, Sad, The Letters..., snart sibling feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9080395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: Len decides to 'come clean' to his family about some things and the family comes to another unpleasant realization...





	

Even though The Flash keeps his promise to stay out of the Santini brothers' business, the CCPD made no such promise. Captain Singh isn't happy with the lack of evidence on a case concerning one of his guy's, especially since it's a shooting. As the trail goes inevitably colder, the police and various inspectors become a constant at the mobster sibling's known establishments.  
Joe and Barry decide to put the Wells investigation to the side, temporarily, while Len heals. Cisco escorts Lisa everywhere she goes, even though it seems to be an unnecessary precaution.  
A week passes with no further repercussions to Lisa's action and the family starts to breathe easy....Most of them anyway. Iris still holds the pieces of Len's letter in her purse, a part of her unable to dispose of them like she promised herself. It weighs heavy in her purse that she refuses to let out of her sight. Len doesn't make comment about it, nor does he bring up what happened between him and his foster sister.

Until after the second week of his hospital stay and Dr. Drake clears him to leave.

"Luck must be on his side," the doctor comments as she looks over her patient's chart. "Don't get me wrong, he isn't cleared for work or lifting of any kind, but," she smiles at the anxious faces staring at her. "He's healthy enough to finish healing in the comforts of his own home. Provided, he follows home-care instructions."  
"Oh, he will," Joe assures the woman.  
"Does that mean you want these back?" Len lifts the, removed, handcuffs to his foster father. They had caused quite a commotion in the hospital, one which Len encouraged more than tried to dissuade.  
"Those are yours," the detective smirks. "I still had a job to do while you were lazing about."  
"I was wondering where they went," the trainee drawls, looking the cuffs over with renewed interest.  
"Detective West," Dr. Drake addresses the man. "Can you come with me to finish the paperwork and let me go over some final details? Len will still need to sign the release form before leaving, but you can do most of it for him."  
"Sure," the detective nods, following the woman out of the room.  
Barry lifts a duffle bag and places it on the foot of his foster brother's bed.  
"Here's a change of clothes," the younger man states. "I hope you weren't attached to those other ones, because they're in evidence now."  
"For a case that will never be solved," Len remarks, reaching for the bag to look at the contents. He glances up when the comment fills the room with uneasy tension. He rolls his eyes at his foster brother's deep frown. "That wasn't me blaming you for anything, Barry. That was just me stating facts."  
"I know," Barry looks away.  
"I think Len would like some privacy to change," Iris points out, ushering her siblings out of the room.  
"Lenny can just change in the bathroom," Lisa protests even as she allows herself to be lead out. As the door closes she calls out, "Don't take forever but don't pop a stitch!"

 

Joe drives them all to his home in Iris's car; the insurance company was holding out on his check to buy a new one. 

At the house, Barry zips around to make his foster brother as comfortable as possible, grabbing pillows and moving furniture out of the way before offering every single food in existence.  
"Barry," Lisa groans for her brother. "Enough already! Just get him some vanilla ice cream with M&Ms on top and call it a day."  
"Comfort food," the speedster nods, at the fridge a second later. "We're out. I'll have to go get some."  
"Don't use-" Joe sighs as the boy leaves without listening. He mumbles the rest. "Your powers."  
"Barry knows better than to let people see him using his powers," Iris assures her father as she sits on the arm chair near the couch where Len had been put.  
"Does he?" the detective counters with only a small amount of sarcasm.  
"Has anyone heard from Felicity or Queen?" Len asks, looking at Lisa for the answer.  
"Just a short text saying everything was fine on her end," his sister smiles. "I think my latest failure in life has blown over pretty well, considering."  
Len frowns at his sister, his eyes locking with hers. She looks away to head into the kitchen.  
Joe's phone goes off and he pulls it out to read a message.  
"I've got a case," the detective states, pocketing the device. "You girls got this for me?"  
"I'm taking the day to help Len settle back into his room," Iris informs her father.  
"Back?" her foster brother repeats. "I expected to stay a day, two at the most, but I can take care of myself in my own place."  
Lisa barks a laugh as Iris shakes her head.  
"I don't think they believe you," Joe pats his boy on the shoulder gently. "Take it easy. I'll see you later."  
"Maybe," Len returns with a wink.

After the detective leaves, and while Lisa uses the bathroom, Iris moves to sit on the coffee table to be closer to her foster brother.  
"I'm sorry," the reporter murmurs, pulling the torn pieces of paper out of her purse. She offers them to the wounded man. "I didn't look at them, but something stopped me from throwing them away."  
"It's alright," Len tells her, taking the papers with a blank expression. He separates the pieces in his hands. It wouldn't take much to put them back together and read again.  
With a heavy sigh, he hands them back to his foster sister.  
"There are some things I've been keeping from you guys," Len says quietly, staring at the papers as his foster sister holds them once again. "After this last scare....Maybe it's about time I come clean."  
Barry arrives in a blast of lightning, startling Iris from her reply.  
"I forgot which ones were your favorite, so I bought one of each," the speedster says, moving to the coffee table to lay out his purchases.  
Len smirks at the pile of colored candies and cartons of different versions of the same flavor.  
"I'll take Breyers with the regular kind, please," he points to each item in turn.  
"You got it," Barry uses his powers again to have a bowl in his foster brother's hands.  
"Will you cut that out?" Lisa scolds the man as she enters the room.  
"I'm just trying to help," the speedster defends himself.  
"Yeah, by being lazy."  
"I just don't think Len should have to wait if he doesn't need to."  
"What about that time I had to wait four hours for you to drive me to STAR Labs to meet up with Cisco?"  
"That was different! I was fighting crime as The Flash at the time. I tried to go as fast as I could, but criminals don't exactly go by a proper time schedule. They do what they want, when they want."  
"Don't I know it!"  
Len turns concerned eyes to his sister as she heaves in air, face red as her eyes water.  
"Uh, no, I'm-" Barry flusters, arms weakly moving towards the woman in a silent offer for comfort. "I'm sorry, Lisa. I didn't-I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you. I'm sorry."  
"It's fine," Lisa shrugs, stepping away from the offered hands.  
"No." Len says firmly, all eyes trailing over to him. "It's not. Have you talked to anyone since you were rescued, Lisa?"  
"What? Like a therapist?" his sister laughs, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "I don't need that, Lenny. I'm fine."  
"You were kidnapped," Iris says, getting to her feet. She pockets the papers in her hands as she steps to her foster sister. "I know you told Dad everything that happened, but that doesn't mean you can't still talk about it if you need to."  
"I don't need to," Lisa assures them, tightening her grip on herself. "Just...Just leave me alone!"  
Lisa runs from the house, slamming the front door behind herself.

"Barry," Len turns to his foster brother. "Can you call Cisco for me? Make sure he's heading to wherever Lisa is running to?"  
"Sure," the speedster nods, pulling out his phone and stepping away to make the call.  
Iris re-takes her seat on the coffee table.  
"That's awfully big of you," she comments softly. "Purposely pushing Cisco in your sister's direction."  
"She needs someone and I'm not allowed to run after her," Len remarks in a monotone. He turns cool eyes to the reporter. "Normally, I'd threaten the little nerd first. I'll just make up for it later."  
"You're not fooling anyone, Len," Iris grins at the weak glare. "I think Cisco is growing on you, but you just don't want to admit it."  
Barry steps closer to the other two.  
"Cisco's on his way to meet Lisa at Jitters," he tells them. "He's also tracking her with her cell to make sure she gets there safely."  
"Oh, goody," Len remarks with a frown. "His chance to be the 'knight in shining armor' is ruined by being a creepy boyfriend."  
"It's a safety measure. What's creepy about that?"  
"Ask me again when I start showing up on your next secret date night."  
Barry's phone rings, drawing his attention away from his foster brother.  
"Looks like they need a CSI's help on the case," he remarks, heading for the door. "Call if you need anything!"  
"Bye, Barry!" Iris waves as the speedster closes the door.

"Now," the reporter turns to the wounded man. "You said something about coming clean?"  
"You want to be the first to know everything?" Len smirks.  
"If not me, who?"  
"If not now, when?"  
"If not here, where?"  
"How about me, tonight, in the dining room?" Len suggests.  
"Should I be concerned?" Iris's smile becomes strained as the papers shift uncomfortably in her pocket.  
"No, well," her foster brother chuckles. "Yes and no, with a little bit of, it doesn't matter."  
"We'll be the judge of that."  
"I'm sure you will..." Len grins, then looks down at his bowl. "Huh...Barry forgot the spoon..."

\- -

A few hours later, while in the middle of a card game, the doorbell rings.  
"Don't even," Iris points to Len when he motions to get up. The injured man lifts his hands in a placating gesture before relaxing back into the cushions of the couch.  
When the door is opened, Officer Jeremy smiles on the other side of it, a padded envelope in his hands.  
"Hello, Miss West," the man greets the reporter. "I've got something for Len."  
"Jeremy!" Len lifts a hand to the man. "You wanna come in? Play a hand? Iris is winning at crazy eights."  
"Wish I could, but I have to get back to the precinct."  
Iris motions for the officer to enter and he walks in enough to hand the package over to the training detective.  
"Thank you for this," Len smiles as he puts the package beside him. "I still say I owe you."  
"And I still say we're even," the officer counters.  
"Is this personal, or professional?" Iris asks, the reporter in her showing.  
"Both," her foster brother says honestly.  
"Heal up so that Detective West can stop looking so worried, will you?" Officer Jeremy remarks as he heads back to the front door. "And my sister wants you over for dinner when you're feeling up to it."  
"Only if I get to bring something," the trainee states.  
Jeremy chuckles, "I think that would be allowed. I'll see you later."  
Iris waves as their visitor leaves, then closes the door before heading back to her card game.  
"Another future confession?" she asks idly as she looks over the cards in her hands.  
Len smirks, eyes on his own cards.  
"You'll have to wait until tonight to see."

\---

After dinner, Len is sat at the head of the table. Joe and Barry sit to his left, while Lisa and Iris sit at his right.  
He pulls out the ripped letter, fixed with tape earlier by Iris, and places it face up on the table.  
"During one of my missions," he begins, eyes on the paper instead of his family. "My plane was shot down. I ejected in time, but was knocked out on the way down. When I woke, there was a blonde woman tending to me. Her name was Sarah."  
Len smooths out the paper as his eyes water, "This letter is from her sister, Laurel."  
He pushes the paper over to Lisa, who was sitting closest to him, "Sarah...is dead."  
Iris gasps, her hands going to her mouth as she stares at her foster brother.  
Lisa barely glances at the paper before pushing it on to Iris. She pulls her chair to rest beside her brother's and wraps both arms around his before resting her head against his shoulder.  
"I'm so sorry, Len," Joe says sincerely. "She must have meant a lot to you. Have you kept in contact this whole time?"  
"Not enough," the trainee shakes his head. "After I was...Returned, to civilization...I would send the occasional message but," he shakes his head again. "It wasn't enough. Not for what she did for me."  
"Oh, Lenny," Iris whispers, tears streaking down her face as she reads the words explaining the woman's death. She wipes at them, a few hitting the paper to blur the letters. "I'm so sorry."  
"Did Oliver give this to you?" Barry asks, noticing the lack of address or postage.  
"Yeah," his foster brother affirms. "Special delivery. We bonded and everything."  
Iris chokes back a laugh as she remembers the two talking while she feigned sleep.  
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Joe asks softly. "We can bring you to Starling City to pay your respects if you want."  
"No," Len shakes his head. "At least...Not now. That can be done later. I'm afraid I'm not done confessing."  
"That sounds ominous," Lisa frowns at her brother.  
"I know everyone at this table thinks that Harrison Wells is a good man who made a mistake and is trying to make up for it," Len comments, getting up. Lisa reluctantly lets him go. "But, I know the man is crooked and I intend to prove it."  
"Actually..." Barry glances over to Joe before locking eyes with his foster brother. "I'm starting to think you might be right...about Wells..."  
"About time," Len grins, getting the padded envelope he had hidden under the couch cushions before returning to the others at the table.  
"You can skip over the police resources waste and lying rant, Joe," the trainee informs the detective. "I'm well aware of what I did."  
"What did you do?" Joe asks, worried about the answer.  
"I ran a piece of evidence using my own name," Len explains, opening the envelope.  
"What evidence?" his foster father presses, worry rising. "Len, have you been taking on cases by yourself? Without authorization?"  
"The night Stein was taken, I heard a crash," the trainee explains, pulling out the paperwork from inside the envelope to look it over. "There was glass on the floor, some sort of liquid in a small puddle around it. When I ran to the man's side, whatever he was drinking got onto my clothes. I took a patch of it and had it run at another lab."  
"Why didn't you ask me to do it for you?" Barry asks, sounding almost hurt.  
"Because you were still blindly devoted to the man," his foster brother explains. "It would have been nice to have you do it for me, avoid any backlash for a minor break in the law, but that option wasn't available."  
He offers the papers to the two men, "I was almost positive about this, but I needed to be absolutely sure."  
"Says here there were traces of some chemical," Joe frowns at the results, pushing the report closer to the CSI for an explanation.  
"That's a tranquilizer," Barry frowns as he reads the report. "So...Wells purposely knocked Stein out? But...There wasn't anything on the floor when I arrived."  
"Naturally, the man cleaned up after himself," Len says seriously. "It's clear to me now. Wells handed Stein over to Eiling."  
"And he let you get hurt," Lisa says angrily, hands tightening on her brother's arm that she had recaptured.  
"Len," Joe looks at his boy. "I appreciate you wanting to warn us all, but I would have preferred to keep the girls out of this."  
"Why?" Iris, Lisa, and Len say at the same time but at different pitches.  
"Because now you're all in danger!" their father explains a little louder than he meant to. "If we discover that Wells is as dangerous as we think he is...Do you think he'll just leave us alone? Knowing what we know?"  
"Wells might be evil, but he's still a man in a wheelchair," Lisa rolls her eyes.  
"Appearances can be deceiving," Len comments, but doesn't explain.  
"Okay," Joe stands. "This is what we're going to do."  
He waits a moment to make sure he has the attention of all his children.  
"Nothing."  
"Nothing?" Len repeats, surprised.  
"Yes, nothing," Joe points to the trainee. "Including you."  
"Wells already knows I hate him. How is me looking into him going to put up red flags?" his boy points out.  
"Exactly," the detective counters. "Wells knows you are suspicious of him, so he'll be cautious around you. You can't start liking him suddenly, but I won't have you poking your nose around and tipping him off."  
"And you two can't defend yourselves as well as us," Barry says to his foster sisters. "Joe and Len have their guns and I have my speed."  
"I have a Taser," Lisa supplies.  
"Where did you get that?"  
"Lenny gave it to me."  
"Of course he did," the detective sighs.  
"It doesn't matter," Len speaks up, looking intently at his sisters. "You two stay as far away from Wells as you can. Understand?"  
The men stare down the women for a few minutes before they cave.  
"Fine," Lisa rolls her eyes, cuddling closer to her brother.  
"On one condition," Iris lifts a finger.  
"Iris-" Joe starts.  
"You guys have to promise to be even more careful from here on out," his daughter continues. "I don't want you taking risks, running into things head first, getting hurt again."  
Iris looks pointedly to Len.  
"Hey, I was shot by a mobster."  
"Like that makes it any better."  
"Just clarifying details."  
"We'll be careful," Barry assures his foster sister. "Don't worry."  
"I can't do that," Iris smiles tightly. "But...I'll do as you ask and avoid the man like the plague. Wait," her eyes widen. "Did he have something to do with Mason's disappearance?"  
"Like the plague," Joe reminds his daughter.  
The reporter nods, accepting the non-answer for what it was.  
"Well," Len pats his sister on the hand so that she'll release him. "I'm all confessed out. How about we all call it an early night and sleep?"  
"I think I'll sleep on the couch," Iris says as they leave the table, all of Len's papers gathered up by the man to be hidden once more.  
"Eddie isn't being a problem, is he?" Len asks as he pauses at the bottom of the stairs.  
"No," his foster sister assures him. "I just want to be here...In case you need anything."  
"A family full of babysitters," the trainee shakes his head as he starts up the stairs. "That's what you all are."

\---

Len wakes to feeling of someone staring at him. He rolls over to his side then opens one eye to see who it is through the reflection of his window. Lisa is frowning at his back, arms crossed over her chest as she leans against the open doorway.  
With a strengthening breath, Len turns over again to sit up and face his sister.  
"Morning," the older Snart drawls. "You sleep last night?"  
Lisa shakes her head, pulling her lower lip into her mouth.  
"You ready to talk about it yet?"  
Another head shake.  
"When you are," Len stands. "I'm here for you."  
Lisa nods her head, then runs from the room.

 

Downstairs and dressed, Len ignores the tray of medication and food as he heads straight for the coffee machine.  
"Na-uh," Joe appears from behind the open refrigerator door and redirects his boy's direction back to the tray. "Take the meds, eat your food, no complaining."  
"I'm not in that much pain."  
"Do I need to repeat myself?"  
"I'm old enough to take care of myself, Joe."  
"Apparently, your age has affected your ability to remember that those things don't matter to me," Joe points to the tray. "Food. Meds. Now."  
Len stares the man down for all of two seconds before dropping his shoulders and heading to the placement set for him.  
"Things will be easier for you if you just listened to me the first time."  
"Can't make it easy for you."  
"Why not?" the detective laughs as he watches his boy dramatically take his medication. "Honestly, would it hurt any of you to just do as I ask the first time and without a fight?"  
"Who's fighting?" Barry asks, walking into the room. "Do either of you know where the girls are? I didn't see either of them."  
"Iris had to get a story in this morning and Lisa stormed out while I was making breakfast," Joe answers, offering the speedster a plate of eggs and toast.  
"Is she okay?" the brunette worries, biting half his toast in one go.  
"She'll be fine," Len answers for his foster father. "Lisa tends to pull herself into a shell when she's trying to figure things out. She'll come around."  
Both the detective's and the CSI's phones go off at once.  
"Case," Joe sighs, looking at the screen.  
"What about Len?" Barry jerks his head to his foster brother.  
"What am I? An invalid?" Len growls, offended. "I appreciate you all worrying about me, but I can handle myself!"  
"You were shot, Len," Joe says with a hard tone, stepping closer to his boy to get into his space. "I don't like the fact you're taking that lightly."  
"I'm not taking it lightly, Joe," Len counters, still sounding angry. "I already got the importing things off my chest last night. That's all the 'healing' I need."  
"But you still need to take it easy," Barry adds. "If you push yourself, you'll end up back in the hospital."  
"Don't jinx me," the trainee turns to the CSI. "Last time someone worried too much about me, what they thought could happen did."  
"Just..." Joe sighs, taking a step away as his phone goes off again. "Just promise me you'll only relax today? No leaving or running errands. No visiting Hartley. Just...Laze about the house."  
"What about fresh air?"  
"You can open a window."  
"Why does this feel like house arrest?"  
"Len," Barry's anger flares. "Will you just listen to Joe already?"  
Len's shoulders twitch at his foster brother's tone and he turns to the brunette.  
"Okay, Barry," Len says softly. "I've been meaning to finally finish watching Prison Break anyway."  
"Good," the speedster nods, a smile finally taking over his deep frown. "I think you look a lot like the main character."  
"Hardly," his brother rolls his eyes. "We look nothing alike."  
"Let's go," Joe nudges one son as he pats the other on the shoulder. "Things to do. Bad guys to catch."  
"Insult Detective Thawne for me!" Len calls after them, then changes his mind, "Better yet! Send him here to check on me so I can do it myself!"

\---

Lisa stares at the ticket in her hands, unshed tears blurring her vision and making the printed letters unreadable.  
"Train four is ready to depart," a voice says over the speaker.  
With a quick wipe to her eyes, Lisa grabs up her backpack and heads to the platform.

\- -

Len growls at his phone, his tenth text unanswered by his sister. He looks up at the time, then back to the device to send the eleventh.  
After a minute, he switches tactics, calling his sister instead. When that goes unanswered as well, he lets out a curse and pauses to think.  
With another curse, Len calls someone else on his contacts list.  
"Cisco," Len barks. "Where is Lisa?"  
"Wh-"  
"Don't ask questions!" Len stops the genius from speaking. "Just use your computers and tell me where she is!"  
"I was going to ask what you did," Cisco grumbles, but the trainee can hear the distinct sound of keys being hit, so he doesn't interrupt the man again. "You two have a fight? I know you're injured, but Lisa has been having a hard time too."  
"I know that, Sicko," Len growls. "Can you track her, or not?"  
"She's...She's going really fast," Cisco's frown comes through the phone as clearly as his words. "Is she with Barry?"  
"She's running," Len states, hating himself for not seeing it sooner. "I need you come and get me."  
"Why not have Barry-?"  
"Barry won't know what to say!" Len shouts over the man again. "Just get your nerdy little butt here before I beat you on principle!"  
"Alright!" Cisco says in exasperation. "I still think we should-"  
"Stop talking and- Never mind. It'll be faster if I walk."  
"Len, wait-!"  
Len hangs up, grabbing his wallet and coat before storming out of the house.

As he nears the bus station, The Flash arrives with a disapproving glare.  
"Officer Snart," the speedster nods to the man.  
"Do you know where my sister is?" Len asks, ignoring the stares he's getting.  
"Yes."  
"Will you take me to her?"  
"Are you sure that's-"  
"Will you take me to her, or not?"  
Barry frowns at his foster brother, wondering what had come over him.  
"Yes."  
"Then what are you waiting for?"  
The Flash looks over the faces of onlookers uneasily, then huffs out a breath and speeds the trainee out of the area.

In Starling City, Lisa steps out of the train and follows the crowd into the city. Outside the station, her steps falter as she comes to a complete stop.  
Len stands in front of her, holding a hand to his chest. The Flash stands behind her brother, body tense as he watches the two Snart's with concern.  
"What did I do to deserve this, Lisa?" Len asks thickly.  
"Nothing!" Lisa nearly shouts, taking a step closer to her brother. "I'm the problem, Lenny! I-I messed everything up! You nearly died! Because of me!"  
"What happened to you never leave one of your own behind?"  
"It can become necessary to protect the ones you love!"  
"At what cost?"  
Passersby have started to walk around the invisible bubble the siblings had made, their cameras whipping out to take pictures of The Flash and the commotion in their city.  
"Guys, maybe you should take this somewhere else?" the speedster suggests, concerned for his sibling's privacy.  
"I'm going to disappear, Len," Lisa says softly, her voice wavering ever so slightly. "I'm going to lay low and...and get a job waiting tables or something. I don't want to risk messing up or...or you getting hurt again. Not...Not because of me."  
Len takes long strides to walk up to his sister. The woman takes a half step back as her brother approaches, eyes wide as she glances around for an escape.  
Len pulls his sister into his arms, pressing her head against his chest with one hand that tangles in her chestnut curls as the other presses against her back to hold her to him.  
"You can't leave, Lisa," the older brother says brokenly. "You're the first good thing that ever happened to me. The only one I could rely on for twelve years before I met Joe. How can I not blame myself if you leave now?"  
Lisa drops her backpack to wrap her arms around her brother's middle, fresh tears welling in her eyes as she turns her head to press it against her brother's chest.  
Barry watches them with wet eyes, unsure of what to do and unable to move.

Len pulls back first, wiping the remaining tears from Lisa's eyes as he smiles at her.  
"Do you have a return ticket?" he asks.  
Lisa purses her lips as she shakes her head.  
"Then we'll get them together. I think I'll need a ride back," Len smirks. He turns to the speedster. "Thank you, Flash. I've got it from here."  
"Uh, okay, good," Barry nods, then clears his throat. Unable to think of something else to say, he speeds out of there.

\- -

Joe, Barry, Iris, and Cisco wait for the siblings at the Central City train platform.  
Len, with a possessive hand to his sister's back, leads the suddenly abashed woman to the awaiting party.  
Lisa looks up when she's only two steps away from her family and boyfriend.  
"I'm sorry," she whispers.  
Joe pulls her in for a hug first, followed by Iris and Barry, then lastly Cisco. Len steps back to direct traffic away from his family.  
After the hugging Joe puts an arm over each Snart sibling's shoulder.  
"Let's go home."

\- -

At the family home, after Cisco has politely excused himself and the family sits around the dining room table, Len brings out a beer and places it in front of his sister.  
"What are you doing?" Joe frowns at his foster son. "She's still too young for that."  
"Not since four o'clock this afternoon," Len smirks as he sits down with his own drink, his being water. He clinks the glass together. "Many happy returns, sis."  
"You've got to be joking," Iris pulls out her phone, then frowns after scrolling through it. "He's not joking. This is terrible!"  
"It can't possibly be your birthday," Barry hopes his words are true as he looks towards his younger foster sister. He frowns when she doesn't smile. "Really? Oh, Lisa, that's awful! We've got to do something to make it up to you!"  
"How time flies," Joe sighs as he runs a hand over his face. He looks over to the girl staring at the beer and reaches over to pat her on the shoulder. "You okay, cupcake?"  
"Yeah," she nods, even as tears dripping down her face.  
"That's not what your eyes are saying," Len comments, arm reaching around her shoulders. "Let it out, Lis. We're all here for you."  
"I'm just..." Lisa starts to sob but forces the rest out. "Really glad to have...have all of you."  
She breaks down, hands over her face as more tears spill and her body shakes with all the residual fear and loss of adrenaline. Len rubs her back as Iris rounds the table with Barry and her father to wrap their arms around her.  
Len's arm gets pinned down by Barry's stomach and his neck is caught by Iris's arm. He waits a full minute before remarking, "Cozy, but I'm dying here."  
The family separates with wet laughs as Len is allowed to break free and Lisa wipes at her eyes.  
"We're overwhelmed..." Joe takes one of Lisa's hands. "With how much we care about you, Lisa. We'll always be here for you."  
"Absolutely," Iris agrees.  
"In a flash," Barry grins.  
Len groans, "An uplifting pun, Barry? Really? Not cool."  
Lisa barks a laugh, which changes into near hysterical giggles. The family sits together, enjoying the feeling of safety as they silently support each other.

 

\--- - ---

**Author's Note:**

> The Title & Summary are bad. (NO surprise there.)
> 
> {Age Explaination}  
> When this Series began as One-Shots: Barry was 23, Len was 25, Iris was 22, and Lisa was 20.
> 
> ***I own NOTHING. Please, don't think that I do...***


End file.
